I-Team exposes illegal, overcrowded city boarding house

The WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team has exposed a boarding house scheme that Baltimore City inspectors said found tenants on Craigslist and put them in danger.

Erica Hailey told I-Team reporter Barry Simms she shared the space with her two daughters.

"This was the living room. They built this wall here," she explained as she showed the space to Simms. "There is no window. If a fire broke out, I'm trapped, me and my two children."

Hailey moved in after signing a rental agreement, Simms reported. Days later, Shundella Burton and her children rented a room in the same house at 3512 Lucille Avenue in northwest Baltimore. They said they paid rent to two men who they thought represented the property owner.

Burton said one of them made some big promises.

"When I got here, he made promises: 'Oh, it's going to be carpeted, with a washer and dryer, two bathrooms.' When only there is one (bathroom) you can actually use, and I'm sharing it with my two kids and 12 other people," she said.

One of those 12 was Sandra Edwards.

"It was nothing like he said. He said there were two bathrooms and a washer and dryer. That's why he's charging $450 a month," she told Simms.

Less than a month after moving in, the tenants were forced out. Simms reported that inspectors checked the house and found that the conditions were unsafe and unhealthy.

"It's overcrowded. You have one bathroom. It's one bathroom per four people. You've got 12 people in there. You should have at least three working bathrooms in a facility such as that. That's a huge problem," said Eric Booker, the deputy commissioner of code enforcement at Baltimore's Department of Housing and Community Development.

He also said it's illegal. The tenants shared the second-floor bathroom, telling Simms they could not use the dirty bathroom in the basement. They said to get to it, they had to maneuver around mounds of trash. Simms discovered that missing smoke detectors and holes in the walls that exposed wiring near electric sockets also posed fire and safety hazards.

Simms tried to talk with anyone responsible for the house, finally catching up with Eric Hinton, who the tenants believed was one of the landlords. Simms asked him what the situation was with the property and why the tenants were being thrown out.

"No situation with the property," Hinton responded. "Nobody is being thrown out. I'm just hearing about it."

He then drove away.

Hinton's name appears on the rental agreement that says tenants are to pay their rent to him or to Jermaine Miller. City housing officials said the two men leased the house from the homeowner for $1,100 per month. The homeowner told 11 News he was unaware of what they were up to until neighbors complained about trash, and he went to see it.

"Doors had changed, altered with room numbers, and (there were) some sort of locks on doors that weren't there before," said Assistant Housing Commissioner Jason Hessler.

It wasn't the only unlicensed rooming house the men allegedly operated. According to housing inspectors, a house at 773 McKewin St. in east Baltimore was one of several other locations.

The I-Team found ads for the properties on Craigslist that showed nice rooms and called for a security deposit. Potential tenants were told that if they needed somewhere to live but their budget was not enough for an apartment or house to call "Mr. Miller." Another ad said potential tenants would be easily approved and included a line that said, "Sorry, if you are a bad apple, you gots to go!"

After several attempts, the I-Team found Miller at the Mitchell Courthouse in downtown Baltimore. He was there on unrelated firearm possession charges due to a prior felony conviction, Simms reported.

When Simms asked him about the illegal boarding house allegations, Miller responded, "I don't know anything about that." He denied the allegations.

The Housing Authority of Baltimore City provided temporary shelter for some of the Lucille Avenue tenants and demanded their rent be returned. The HABC said it is also developing a plan for prior inspections.

"We need to make sure we look at these buildings first, take a look and see if they can be habitable, and if so, fine. If not, let's tell residents they can't move in," said Deputy Housing Commissioner Reggie Scriber.

He said finding adequate shelter doesn't mean anyone should settle for a place that puts life, health and safety at risk.

Meanwhile, Miller and Hinton face charges of operating a rooming house without a permit. If convicted, they could get up to 90 days in jail.

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